A Guide to Minecraft

Since its inception seven years ago, Minecraft has captivated a generation of children around the world. With over 100 million registered users, the game is no passing fad and quite possibly is only in its infancy potential wise. From a teacher’s point of view, talking to children about Minecraft leaves us in no doubt about its popularity and its potential for engagement in learning.

Whilst engagement is an important factor for using Minecraft in the classroom, it is not the main reason why we should start taking it seriously as a powerful educational tool. The game can be used to teach a multitude of, if not all subjects. Additionally, the game can help develop skills that are needed for the 21st century. Below is a list of these skills, which are becoming increasingly important for students of the information age.

Learning Skills

Literacy Skills

Life Skills

Critical Thinking

Creative Thinking

Collaborating

Communicating

Information Literacy

Media Literacy

Technology Literacy

Flexibility

Initiative

Social Skills

Productivity

Leadership

Minecraft has the potential to develop these skills in ways other games do not. If your child is playing Minecraft regularly, they are inevitably working on these skills through play. The concern that children are spending too much time in virtual worlds remains a valid one. However, a healthy balance is needed. We as parents and teachers are still in control of this and if not, we should be. As with all online access, monitoring and questioning what our children are doing coupled with an appropriate balance of offline time is key.